Top 10 Shows that "Jumped the Shark," Part 1 - Featured

Top 10 Shows that "Jumped the Shark," Part 1 - Featured

Remember when your show had a plot that made sense, was amazing every week, didn't have off-the-wall moments, or the feeling that someone was begging you to keep watching? Well, I hate to break it to you, but your show has jumped the shark!

Check out SideReel's top 10 shows that jumped the shark, and comment with where you think these shows jumped, or defend your fav.

Season 1 of Heroes was unique and captivating with a dramatic conclusion - but then S2 began, and dashed all our hopes of continued greatness to pieces. It became clear immediately into S2 that Heroes had jumped the shark as we discovered none of the possible main character deaths went through, (Really? Peter and Nathan didn't blow up AND the battle with Sylar didn't kill Sylar or anyone else?), there was a batch of new heroes that were awful and took the plot off track, and Peter just popped up in Ireland after the explosion with amnesia.

I still love Lost and am psyched to watch every week, but it did admittedly jump the shark. So, objectively, Lost "lost it" when the all-important smoke monster, polar bears, and the terrifying "Others" of S1 were either dropped with no explanation or only had a lame explanation later, and then the whole deal with Walt was never explained and everything got very confusing and flashback-centric. And if that wasn't enough, finally now in S5, excessive, ridiculous time travel has taken over after a very ridiculous S4 finale moment with Ben cranking that fakey island-moving wheel.

House is the most debatable show on this list as it's still delivering its basic promise of being a great, formulaic medical show with a snarky genius, but House has done some jumping of the shark when it comes down to a few items: bringing on a new team, and the constant "who's going to quit and come back this week" phenomenon. Sure, there's only so much you can expect in the 5th season of a medical show with the same basic cast, but S4 had great momentum going with an amazing, shocking finale, then S5 dropped the ball and never picked it back up.

Family Guy is meant to be ridiculous, but it hit a point where it became clear Seth MacFarlene knew his show was golden, and he could do whatever he wanted without worry of getting pulled (again). It was on track with its perfectly crafted "f***-you America/FOX" groove until S6's "Stewie and Lois kill each other" storyline got off into an imaginary place where they could play out extended fantasy sequences with barely a wrap-up. Yes, this should be excused by the fact that it's a cartoon, but to get to the point where episodes include Peter as a pirate, the guys doing "Jackass" without need for recovery, Brian and Stewie time traveling to the Nazi invasion, and really playing an entire Conway Twitty song is just far too much.

The point of jumpage for this one was the S3 finale in which after a floundering season, they decided to kill off one of the show's main characters and then allowed grief, college, bad new relationships, and dream-sequences to take over the pretty awful 4th and final season. Having Marissa not die would've been lame, but having her die turned out not to be the great idea to get the show back on its feet. Instead it was the idea that made the whole thing flounder to the point of drowning. Sorry, O.C., you were good for most of the time you lasted.

Comments

For those that don't know what jumping the shark means, it refers to "high-quality shows when they stay on the air too long in the face of waning interest - or when they simply cease to maintain quality standards for writing or acting, resorting to cheap sensationalism" (wikipedia).
I think Lost's continuing, if bouncing, high ratings automatically disqualify it from the waning interest part, and its stellar cast and crew disqualify it from lacking quality standards part. I think the cheap frozen wheel was a bad move, but even that wasn't jumping the shark, because the show bounced right back with the interesting time travel into the backstory of Dharma. What a way to move beyond the flashbacks! With millions of recorded viewers, and millions more who download, the show is a continued favourite that cannot be said to have jumped the shark.
Heroes, on the other hand, and I'd say Prison Break as well, although it's not on this list, have jumped the shark completely. The writing on both have been horrible in recent seasons, and I've lost interest completely in seeing how either of them end. There comes a point when shows need to recognise the story has been told, and it needs to come to an end. This desire to milk every bit they can get out of it just cheapens what came before. Heroes and PB season 1 were fantastic. The magic should have ended there for both of them.

jumping the shark is the point when you finally realize that the shows writers have just run out of ideas, that being said, I completely disagree that lost has jumped the shark, there is a big difference between jumping the shark, and viewers not understanding the shows storyline. Lost is an extremely well thought out show, the stuff that is happening now on the show is what the show was ultimately going to be about all along, they were just building up to it. Like the time travel plot, that was always going to be part of the show, they didnt just pull it out of thin air one day, that is what the show was driving toward, so that is no way means it has jumped the shark. The creator even set up the 16 episode seasons after season three because that is how many shows they told the network they needed to finish. I doubt any show on tv know where they are going three seasons in advance.

Ratings did go down for Lost. Too many ?'s & not enough answers. @ least stay consistent. I hope all my ?'s will be answered @ the end of the series. If not, do a movie like Prison Break is suppose to do. Prison Break's ratings went down as well. I don't think with 6 episodes it will explain what happen. @ times Family Guy can go too far. Way too far. As for OC, after Marissa died, that was it.

Maybe I'm a die-hard fangirl, but I'm still holding out for Heroes to improve. S2 was unquestionably awful (I've actually blocked out most of it), but some of the elements I loved about S1 are starting to crop up again now...so until it dives back down to S2 quality, I'm going to keep waving my figurative pompoms.
House...yes. Just yes.

A little help:
Battlestar Galactica jumped the shark in season 4.5(if not even before), the ending was even more ridiculous.
The Office probably jumped the shark too after Andy's wedding and Pam's studying in NY ended. Well maybe jumping the shark is not the right term, but the show definitely tuned down an noch.
And House, well the show has recovered pretty well with the couple new episodes where our favorite grumpy doctor got his groove back. So I wouldn't condemn this one to have jumped the shark too soon. Also the next episode seems really promising. If the show has jumped the shark, then it's certainly doing a great job of trying to get back on its feet.

I think Lost, Prison Break, and Heroes just all had excellent first seasons which makes it hard to live up to those seasons. I think a lot of shows have just "had their day" and need to be canceled. The problem is I haven't seen any prospects of better shows to replace them.

Family Guy's entire Conway Twitty song was ridiculous! Thank god I was streaming the episode so I could skip through the whole song! Don't get me wrong, I love Family Guy, but this season just hasn't been up to scratch. Sure it has had it's LMAO moments, of course but it's not the show it used to be. Seth needs to stop being so arogant and dare I say it lazy and start getting the show back on track as I am in danger of not watching. Also there has been far more moments that have been shocking and in no way funny due to them going too far. Family Guy has always pushed the boundaries, but they seem to have completely forgotten where the boundary is atm. An entire episode dedicated to OJ Simpson... er no.
I must admit, Lost 'lost' me this season. It just doesn't grab me any more. Josh Holloway with his shirt off isn't even enough to keep me watching anymore... which says A LOT! Heroes season 1 was fab, and I watched season 2 purely because Kristen Bell was in it, but after killing her off - I switched off...

I can't believe you put Lost on your list.....I'm actually heartbroken you did!! Only kiddin, I'm glad you still love it, I can see where you are coming from but that was also due to the fact J.J Abrams went off to do Mission Impossible 3 during season 2 and never really came back to the show in a full way (Star Trek, Fringe). Ratings may have dropped with some of the public but as far as the story becoming ridiculous and 'jumping the shark', I would disagree. All things will be answered and when we're able to look back on the show in it's entirety, we will all be satisfied with the journey.
The rest of the list is spot on! Heroes is so weird as the 1st season was tremendous and I thought it had really brought the sci-fi genre to everyone's tastes and would be remembered for decades! But seeing it completely nose-dive into a cess-pool of bad story arcs and lame characters almost instantly in season 2 was horrifying
Very true with Family Guy. As I was sitting there watching a full 4.5minute Conway Twitty song in a 20minute show was disturbing to say the least! I think Seth McFarlane is either on the biggest ego-trip or has become blind-drunk with power over the network. This season, or last season, has not been great at all.
Looking forward to part 2 which I'm sure will include Prison Break (please be gentle!) and definately Scrubs. Scrubs has just become a pantomime parody of itself or just a sketch-show like SNL at some points. It'd also be cool if you mentioned how Friends got unbearable when the writers simply over-played character eccentricities to death and had ludicrous storylines quite similar to that fateful day when Fonzy jumped the shark....

Well, I disagree on both your views on Lost and Heroes. Yes, season 2 was a bit dissapointing, but I blame the writer's strike for that. Season 3 is really living up to the hype of the first season. As far as lost goes, if you don't like it don't watch it. I happen to enjoy every episode and it's getting most of my questions answered, so I'm just waiting for the rest of my other questins to be answered too.

I blame the drop in Lost ratings on viewers who want to be spoonfed entertainment, rather than having to think a bit and digest what they've seen. And a badly rated episode of Lost is still heaps higher than many other shows.
We need more shows like Lost, and less Big Brother and the like.
OC did jump the shark; it was never the same after Marissa died.

@kendrave seen with your reviews in here that u are someone who loved the s4 house finale and thought thts how house should be... house was never the show tht had emotional overtones with the way it ended in s4. all those who keep crying bout season five having realistic routine episodes with no emotions and stuff compared to the season 4 ending ... FLASH News: This what house is all about, its bout realism with hell a lot sarcasm!, thts wht makes the show unique, if u wanted house to turn out to be a medical melodrama, you're looking at the wrong place! there is tons of medical shows out there , with emotions pouring out at every scene of the show, try one of them , House aint the one for u!
but as i say this house aint an unemotional show, it depicts emotions in right amounts , the human elements according to me are etched in a more realistic ways though, the wilson - house friendship for one is a perfect example, it never gets too emotional , but lets u know about it without the emotional potboilers. House hasn't jumped the shark, it just jumped the shark temporarily during the season 4 finale!
For all those fans who love House for what it is, its back and back with a bang!

i hate seeing shows that are still great, seasons on but being canceled. and shows like heroes etc still freakin goin. heroes season 1 was great, season 2 was ok and season 3 is f#@&ing awful. wtf goin on with da world

I disagree with most of your points.
Heroes, while f*****g up most of it's second season has really bought it back with the third, albiet nowhere near as enticing as the first season, it is still better than the majority of crap on tv.I can't comment on House, i have never watched it because i can't stand Hugh Laurie, the most British person in the world, doing an American accent. Lost has always been rubbish.
The things you have listed for Family Guy 'jumping the shark', are the reasons that the show is so much fun - it doesn't have to adhere to everyday situations. (with the exception of Conway Twiddy there- that annoys me and a lot of people i imagine).
And The OC, after having a crap 3rd season made the 4th the best one since the first, and i was glad that Marissa, the biggest moaner and whinger in television, was got rid of.

Can't believe House is on this list... S5 is so good! I love it more than ever! And Hugh Laurie is a legend! His American accent is phenomenal! I love the new head games between lead characters! Great stuff! :)
I agree with Heroes though... it's nowhere near as good as it was....

Totally agree about Lost and Heroes. They definitely lost it after producing incredibly entertaining 1st seasons.
Totally agree about Lost and Heroes. They definitely lost it after producing incredibly entertaining 1st seasons.
I find House, however, awesome and to be still producing what I signed up for. Perhaps a couple of episodes were weaker than others, but in a show with such a theme it can be understandable.
As to Family guy, it definitely jumped away with its repetitiveness and stupidity, the above mentioned song and the pointlessness of the recent episodes shows that it's probably moving towards its decline. If the 1st seasons had original moments(though on the whole stolen from the Simpsons) than now, I can't even remember a single funny thing about the last season.
Finally, as sad as it makes me, I have to add South Park to the list. Season 12 was one of the weakest (in my opinion it shifted in a different direction than it used to head before) but what frustrated me especially was the so eagerly awaited season 13 1st episode... Ow, probably the weakest one in the shows history, the 2nd had its moments but still below the level I am used to. I still hope that they can turn it around, but I am afraid it may be closing to its end :(.

You seem to have forgotten Grey's Anatomy.....HELLO!!
Meredith dying and speaking to Denny's ghost and behold... Denny himself in the flesh ... or not ... RIDICULOUS story line, sick or not they went off a rubbish tangent with Izzy's story.
George is going no where and after crushing on him forever, Lexie suddenly likes Sloan, (even though i like them 2gether) random!!
Derek is having a breakdown and pulling away from Meredith.. I'm tired of seeing them fight and breaking up and getting back 2gether!!
They need to put a proper end to a fantabulous show that i love before they pull an O.C on us!! I loved that show put lets face it s4 was crock, it didn't jump the shark, it got devoured!!!!
Oh and House ... NO WAY! that show rocks and has yet to do something I roll my eyes at.

ok heroes deffinately lost me in season 2.the first one was amazing and i never missed an episode and it became one of my fave shows.But then season 2 and after a while i just stopped watching and i havent watched since.
i never watched lost but i think it was kinda terrible since the start.
i really like all the seasons of the OC and i dont think the 4th season was bad at all....i really enjoyed it!!
ok i dont agree with the person about south park cause i still think its hilarious and am constantly laughin when i watch it!i thought season 12 was brillaint and had a load of pretty amazing episodes!!!and i think the season 3 eps are all hilarious!
but i do agree with tv-addict on greys anatomy.i loved it so so so much i mean obsessed!!the storylines were amazing and i still love the 1st 3 seasons...i think it started to go down after the 3rd season.i still love it and i watch every episode(unlike heroes)but i will admit it doesnt make me annoyed if i miss an episode anymore.

Lost is easily one of the greatest shows to hit TV. People who have dropped the show during this season are OUT OF THEIR MINDS! Season 4 was the best season of the show by far. The second half of Season 3 into Season 4 were ridiculous! The ride that we have been taking in Season 5 is incredible and I was actually sad to see the time traveling end....for now. The Dharma Initiative is amazing and I love that they are stuck there now. Yes, the middle of the Season 3 was slow with stupid flashbacks. I enjoyed Season 2 but it was definitely the weakest season. LOST is better than ever right now and people who think otherwise are not smart enough to comprehend the show, end of story.
House is still an amazing show.
Heroes is the only show that I have ever started to watch and actually gave it up, and I watch a bunch of shows.
I am enjoying Season 4 of Prison Break after Season 3 was a disappointment.
KEEP CHUCK!!!!!

Just because you are not interested in a show anymore does not mean it jumped the shark. That term is used loosely nowadays and does not make sense anymore. Just because House is not very good anymore does not make it jumping the shark. Let's look at the history of the term. Happy Days, episode 89 season 5 the gang is out in Hollywood and Fonzie gets dared to jump a penned in shark. It is a scene like that, that makes a show jump the shark. It takes a ridiculous stunt that does not make sense to the formula of the show to make the show jump the shark. Heroes is a show of people with superhuman powers, Lost is a show of people on a magical island which was evident from the first episode, Family Guy is a show with outrageous sequences every 5 minutes. Jumping the shark is reserved for shows that last too long and the writers run out of ideas. Lost and Heroes are writers full of ideas that people just do not like. That does not make it jumping the shark. The phrase jumping the shark has jumped the shark.

TWENTY-FOUR. I searched this whole page for "24" which was difficult considering that all the comments were written on March 24, but this would be the TOP of my list (maaaaaaybe after the O.C.). The only question is WHEN it jumped the shark... after the first season, some would say. But by now, there's no question.

@captainsmash thanks for the explaination
and I really think Grey's jumped the shark with the whole Ghost Danny. I'm also really tired of seeing meredith and Derek fight all the time, but imaginge they would finally be happy, in that case there wouldn't be much left to tell about them. Either they should finish the show or hand it over to the interns and create new issues to solve.
I'm surprised noone mentioned "My Name Is Earl", it's still okay to watch but lightly boring because it's always the same and lately I feel like they are trying to hard.
Heroes is also boring and I hate Danko. He's so uselessly mean. They should start filling all the holes and finally make Peter do SOMETHING! They were making such a fuzz about Peter in S01, so I really expected something incredible to happen to him, but no. Same goes for Sylar.

I'll be the first to agree the heroes jumped the shark a long time ago. Most of its current viewers are merely waiting for it to return to what it was season one.Family Guy has DEFINITELY NOT though. Ocean's Three and a Half is proof that it is still excellent.

woww I CANT BELEIVE people...
1) HEROES - one of the best shows on TV currently...Season 1 - GREATSeason 2 - GreatSeason 3 - I live off of every monday night! I love coming home from work and class, laying in bed and hitting the DVR button to watch what i missed!
The show didnt "jump the shark" it was because the writers strike
Beleive me, EVERY SERIES was affected by it VERY MUCH!
You wont see anything get better till next year.
You cant stay on the same story line for so long! that gets boring, new characters, new plots, new hurdles are what we live for. If everyone is doing the same thing for so long... u get to the point where- Why have they not accomplished this, it wouldnt take this long...
with heroes.. it hasnt changed
they are still trying to save the future from heroes, just because we got new villians and new good guys it doesnt mean they have altered what the heroes mission was in the first place.

Lost - u cant JUMP the shark in that show, after u watch the first season... and choose to watch season 2, DONT COMPLAIN.. its a television show first of all, it can throw as many curve balls at us as it wants
once again, the reason for the lack of episodes is the writers strike...
u cant get mad now because the show leaves u with so many questions, its what keeps ratings HIGH... peoples curiousity, its GENIOUS! sucks for me because i hate waiting every week for it! but like i said
LOST season 1 - monsters, polar bears, ISLAND... lost season 6 - island, time travel, and more weird stuff...
ITS LOST, why we love it!

HOUSE - the shows awesome, funny, witty and unique. who cares if he fires and hires a new cast. PEOPLE love all the characters and can relate at least 1 of them..just because the story line doesnt need to connect each episode. it does a lot, but it doesnt need too..this show never had an end plot to it, itll end when it loses ratings and thats bout it..
family guy is a cartoon, talking baby, funny ass hell! it has its points of stupidity and dumb episodes, but the funny ones get u laughing... show doesnt need to make sense or connect, its mean to be funny and thats it, stewie can die and brian can create a potion that will bring him back to life, seth can use the excuse that in the potion to bring him back was a Rare tear of a bird who just went extinct and it wouldnt matter. its funny

i dont watch the oc.. lol

ABC, fox and NBC are jackasses at time... they just cancelled Eli Stone, which was a great series! dont forget they also cancelled day break a while back which got viewers really pist!
fact of the matter is, its TV we watch it for entertainment, we have to be open to new things happening, u cant have the same boring plot all the time and same characters... to us viewers we might not mind, but its hollywood, some of these actors want to move on to different projects and movies and cant be held back by a tv series, but it does so well so it introduces new cast members all the time...
i say by 2010 the writers will get back to normal from that stupid strike which left all of us pist for a while, but overall yeah we shouldnt be whining about "jumping the shark" especially about sci-fi shoes!

Lost should not be on this list. I think that Lost goes over some folks heads. they are not used to the intrigue or style of storytelling that the show uses. Lost was mystreious from the start but I think some people want it to be something it is not an action scifi series it is more lik a mystery thriller. Twists and turns and the character development is crazy good. There is a great cult following and I don't consider the ratings to be slow at all its the best show on tv.Heroes is annoying.Family guy is still funny but I believe that Seth is being spread too thin American dad, Cleveland spinoff, oooh how greed changes us. They run out of material and play a song, or have the characters sing a song.Scrubs not funny anymore.Niptuck is terrible just awful the storylines are more ridiculous than compelling.

Ok look, I'm sorry, but no.
Just no.
Lost, yes.House, sadly... yes, but it's getting back.O.C., who really cares?
But Heroes?! No.
JUST TO WARN YOU THIS HAS SPOILERS APLENTY. SO IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE LATEST SEASON 3 EP. DON'T READ ANY FURTHER FOR YOUR OWN SAKE.
Granted, Season 2... a problem, the majority of the suck was to do with the writing style the writers/producers THOUGHT would work, but at the point when the show could have been saved, (The Shanti Virus getting out.) they had to stop it, because of the strike, if they had gone through with the original story they had set out, Maya's character could/would have served it's purpose and that would have been an uplifting, ratings grabbing season storyline.
UNFORTUNATELY, they couldn't and all we were left with, was the suck of season two...
Moving on, you cannot! just talk about the first half of a show. Most of you have just been saying, "Season 1 was greatness, but season 2 was awful."
Yeah?? And?!
What about season 3? Can you not count that far? Well let's refresh, starting off on ep 1! The OMG "Whodunnit" shooter, it as peter, and not one of you would have seen it coming. Matt gets thrown off to AFRICA of all places, Hiro gets killed by ANDO! and escapes a... whatever that was, and TRACY STRAUSS!
And throughout the rest of the volume, not only were the majority of questions answered, but they even left room for a followup to the awesomeness. (Also, Petrelli Sr. SUCKS BALLS... Who does he think he is? Stealing Hiro's powers, and jacking up Peter's (Who you would think would be a terrible character without his powers, but you know he actually stayed pretty interesting.))
And now, they have the momentum building, awe-inspiring VOL. 4, and you nerve-erkers (Yeah. You read me.) HAVE THE NERVE-ERKIN' ABILITY, TO BITCH!?
The specials are actually being taken down, Mohinder is KICK-ASS! (Admit it. Him having super-strength and invulnerability is pretty awesome.) The huge plane crash, which I think was shot beautiful, Tracy reveals herself as an untrustworthy bitch, and pays the price for it I might add, and even after that, Sylar finds himself a little protege type person. (Which could have actually turned into an interesting character plot if held on longer.) Then we have the whole deal with that lady trying to take charge, (Which did not end up well for that one guy in the hall.) Hiro and Ando going to INDIA! And of course the almighty Rebel, steps into action. (Sadly to say, didn't realize who it was until like, this past Saturday... Dont' judge me for that.)
I mean really, how awesome was the mystery of Rebel? And then you see just how badass specials can be when they're backed up into a corner, I mean really, they got HRG?! All must admit how awesome that made you feel. But hold on, cause it gets better.
IN THE NEXT EP, they interrogate him, like the frickin KGB! This Danko guy... really? I mean, besides being an absolute DICK! What purpose does he serve? Oh wait, that's right, he through Nathan out of a window. HE'S A MAN OF ACTION, all throughout the show ya got people playing head games and not enough real action. ('Cept from HRG, who brings down both sides hardcore!) But yeah, Danko has some real potential, but then OH GOD NO! Daphne's alive! (Honestly, a mistake, but they do rectify this in more than one way.) And then Rebel sends another odd message. "Save Matt Parkman." How did he know they were gonna be in that specific establishment, unless he's getting help from an... I don't know, Clairvoyant!? (LOOK DOWN!)
NEXT EP!
FINALLY! FINALLY! SOMEONE TELLS THE MEDIA ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON! Granted they didn't tell the full story, but at least they did SOMETHING! They go looking for Daphne, Peter and Matt that is, and honestly, we see just how amazing Parkman is with his ability, I mean come on, who else besides Sylar has that kind of skill with their ability? Not to mention the whole saving Alex, the merman deal, and Sandra, Mrs. HRG, I ALWAYS KNEW SHE WAS AWESOME, to be fair she isn't a super-spy, but she DOES know how to shift up an identity. And the boys from the land of the rising COOL! hit L.A. only to have a screeching adolescent squawk around the house like her boyfriend broke up with her, and then bam, Hiro has a baby in his hands. "We're here to save Matt Parkman.""Uh yeah, Matt Parkman? You're holding him."
Magnificent!
"TODDLER TOUCH AND GOOOOOOOOOO!" Jr. is the best baby ever, better than fire-proof baby Claire. But back to the beginning. Shave. Shave. Shave. Alarm. Look. Search. Puppetman. Gasp. Angela feels that Peter will never forgive her, (Cry cry cry, weep weep, saddened. ANYWAY.) she tells Noah they shouldn't meet anymore, and that he should give Danko "Rebel", (who's the best person ever, EVER!) they say their goodbyes and part ways. Tracy's huffing and puffing, COLD AIR, IN AND OVEN, that's right. Blah blah blah, they conspire, blah blah blah, Hiro has daddy issues (been typing for a while, slightly bored.) Angela has a vision and now she's on the run. Building 26 is SHUTDOWN! Guess who did it... go on... guess... YA GIVE UP!? It was Rebel. The heat turns off in Tracy's cell and she cold-busts her way out. And she's leading by camera motion to the captives, she decides she better off without them slowing her down. and then whadya know? Agents bust her exit point down, and aim guns at her, then Matt works his way up and shuts them down, telepathically of course. So now she's in a store picking out clothes, getting dressed, Noah walks in, says he doesn't wanna hurt her, tells her to give him Rebel, she warns him, she has a "hell of a Cold Snap" but decides she's gonna be the untrustworthy bitch once more. Hiro and Ando have a weird E.T./Pedo-esque moment with the baby in the closet, strictly PG though... and Janice finds them. Tracy is walking down the street and an ATM calls out her name, she gets money and a message telling her to go to Union Station. She says thanks... catches a cab... then wouldn't you know it... Rebel steps out and its... MICAH!
Sidenote: I'm embarrassed I didn't realize sooner than I did who rebel was, but hell, I was right, so there.
Back to the story.
Back to Janice, with a baby, in the living room. Ando and Hiro are there too. They explain the situation, warn her, and she understands, then wouldn't you know it!? Agents come to the door, she lies about the baby's whereabouts obviously, and then they decide to search the house ANYWAY! The Bastards! Ando Kamehame Ha!s (I did that on purpose.) them (I mean really, that's such a stereotype, "Just cause he's japanese," he shoots out energy from his hands... those writers can be SOOOO offensive sometimes.) And he's all like, WOW, and gets knocked out, then Hiro somehow regains his time stopping powers and uses them... oh yeah! TODDLER TOUCH AND GOOOOOOOO! Anywho, he doesn't have his teleporting abilities, and has to push Ando out on a wheel barrel, CAN'T SAY HE AINT SMART!
Oh yeah, Daphne wakes up, talks to matt and runs away... real shocker. Tracy meets Micah in the station at her locker, and she's all like, "If I had known it was you, I wouldn't have been such an untrustworthy bitch." (Ok, So I'm paraphrasing.) Angelas in her own episode of S.A.C.S. (Secret Agents Coming at you Secretly.) in the City! she ducks into a building, and the gooses into an elevator, (YEAH, poultry, the sneakiest of the animal kingdom.) and the agents are already at work bringing it back down, then BOOM! on the elevator roof. The elevator comes back down, and the doors open, and wouldn't you know who it is to save the day? Peter! yeah, see... he's in this episode. came a little late but whatever. Tracy and Micah, in a Parking Garage, Micah's disappointed that Tracy is an untrustworthy bitch. (Yeah, I'm bringing that one right-on-home!) And he's berating her for it. Then of course as usual, the agents come in. They duck (Again with the birds.) between two cars, and Tracy looks up at the sprinklers, and asks Micah to make it rain. He gets to work. It's pouring, she tells Micah to keep on keepin' on, and to stay ahead of the ice. Micah runs behind the cars not being seen. Tracy steps out into the open, and in true X-Men style (In a good way.) she freezes the entire place, dudes are trying to pull the trigger and then ice just forms around their guns and hands, everybody's frozen still, the water on the ground and coming from the sprinklers turn to ice, even Tracy is freezing herself. And Micah's doing as he's told, running, he's staying ahead of the chill, and then wouldn't you know it he gets to an exit and closes the door just in time for it to freeze over. He's running through the hallway now. Danko, the asshole, walks up to her and shoots her completely frozen body, right in the chest. Micah hears it and turns around but he keeps on keepin'. Blah blah blah between HRG and Danko, Tracy's "eye" sheds a "tear" and it rolls down what's left of her "cheek." Hiro makes it to a bus station where everyone is frozen, I don't know if he froze it back when he was at the house or what but they were frozen. He unfreezes everything and explains the situation to a surprise Ando, who later asks why he didn't teleport and blah. (Yeah, Blah!)
A little dream sequence for Daphne, Matt pretends to fly to the moon with her, she dies, YAY! and that's how it's rectified, Matt is shown as the master of illusions, and Daphne kicked it.
Peter and his mom are in the statue of Liberty for finally, and that's how the fourth Volume, not only makes up for Season 2, but also shows that Heroes, has NOT JUMPED THE FUCKING SHARK.

"Jumping the shark is a colloquialism coined by Jon Hein and used by TV critics and fans to denote that point in a TV show or movie series' history where the plot veers off into absurd story lines or out-of-the-ordinary characterizations, particularly for a show with falling ratings apparently becoming more desperate to draw viewers in. In the process of undergoing these changes, the TV or movie series loses its original appeal"
I would say Heroes hasn't jumped the shark, if you watch the show and pay attention to detail there are a number of well explained reasons as to why each of the character's didn't die, most people realised as soon as they aired the show that both Sylar and Peter would be returning, the only question was Nathan. Also it was obvious that they wouldn't remove 3 of the main characters from the show when the original idea of having a different cast each season was scrapped.
How is it that Lost jumps the shark when they start introducing time travel into it, the premise of the show was ridiculous from day 1. Polar bears on a Tropical Island? How can that not be considered jumping the shark?
House is yet to jump the shark, there haven't been any real moments where the story lines have been completely absurd (most of the story lines in House are a little odd at least). The way in which he went about hiring the new team could have been cited as the point where it jumped the shark but it wasn't out of character for House. The 'whose going to quit and come back next' phenomenon isn't really jumping the shark it's been done before and its another example of House screwing with his team.
Scrubs hasn't jumped the shark, it just hasn't changed in 8 seasons, the characters haven't grown and the same types of jokes stop being funny after a while. Thus leading to everyone getting bored of the show if they watch it regularly. I would argue that this season is a lot better than the previous 3, we finally see JD growing up a bit and some of former humour coming back into the show.
Dead on with The O.C., Nip/Tuck and Prison Break though.

some one mentioned the office and I think the last episode was amazing. You can't expect every episode to be amazing, writers are most likely gonna get it wrong once in a while. Season three of Heroes is so so much better then season two but I don't think many people are watching because they gave up on the show already. Lost has and will never jump the shark. It has a crazy plot to begin with and either you love it or you don't. It has been planned out from the beginning and so it won't go off track much. The polar bears were brought from Darhma to any one who missed a chunk of the show and don't realize it. Scrubs I think is hilarious and got off track but what show doesn't over a long period of time.

I agree with the people who reminded everyone that "jumping the shark" comes from the Happy Days episode in which Fonzie jumps over a shark tank with his motorcycle. I feel like the list of shows above is mainly a list of shows where the writing might have gotten bad, not shows that "jumped the shark" -- that is, shows where there were ridiculous plot twists and story changes meant to attract waning audiences. A lot of the examples that the reviewer gave were just about aspects of the shows that she felt became less interesting, but I think she misunderstood the idea of jumping the shark.
And I definitely agree that Lost has never jumped the shark. Sure, the story may have lost track of some of the original elements, but that is not what jumping the shark means. And then of course you have to remember that Lost is not your ordinary t.v. show. The writers are taking their time laying out a long story, rather than the episodic format of most t.v. shows. And if you remember the timeline for the first several seasons, the characters had only been on the island for, well, I don't remember exactly, but it was some relatively short time. If you think about it that way then there was no room in the storyline to explain the polar bears, the smoke monster, and all the other mysteries of the island. Plus, it's entirely possible that those will be answered fully at some point. I just think that people don't see Lost as one long story that happens to be split into individual episodes and spread out over seasons. That's one of the reasons there's so much frustration over it. Have some patience and an attention span!
As for House, well, I think that the only creative thing about the writing on that show is the witty, sarcastic dialogue. Everything else is pretty boring, predictable, and trite. That's not jumping the shark, either. It's just a lack of creativity and over-arching plot.
And Family Guy?! Please! The entire show is about absurd non-sequiturs! Maybe it takes the jokes a bit too far, like the Conway Twitty episode, but I don't know if it's possible for that show to jump the shark! What could it possibly do that doesn't adhere to the concept of being over-the-top, offensive, and absurd?

heroes, house and family guy I am defending. I am also giving Scrubs a break since they are ending their series so lets not get to grubby.
First off...I love any show that has superpowers so Heroes is awesome. i do agree it lost me but I do believe it has refocused itself this season. The plot is consistent finally. So if you've lost hope for this show a while back....please pick it up because it is getting soooo good.
I love House soooooooo much. I know that the new team SUX but I still think its a great show. I love Hugh Laurie....and I think that they are going to do something big soon....just don't know what or when.
Family Guy I love just because it is stupid and hilarious. So don't go complaining when they've gone overboard because they were already overboard (not to begin with because at the beginning of the series it lacked what it picked up later on).
As for Scrubs....give 'em a break...they are ending. Let the show get a proper burial, a nice casket, nice tombstone...just let it go.

LOST is meant to be elusive and ridiculous, it is after all a fantasy. Just because you can't keep up doesn't mean it has lost it's edge. OBVIOUSLY the show has to find new antagonists instead of the same ones from season one. That is how a show continues you dumbass, it finds new things to focus on with each season. LOST is amazing, and continues to be with every season.

House has not jump the shark! I think people just want more drama, but that isn't what it is about. It's a show about saving lives, maybe not in the most cliche way but isn't that why we watch the show. There is just enough romance and emotion for it not to turn into a lame soap like so many other show have. So no House has totally not jump the shark!!! I still watch it faithfully ever monday!
Also people have been saying how bad it is for House to fire his team and hire a new one. That's because everyone was getting far to predictable. You knew everyone's secret and their personality to the point where you can pinpoint exactly what they were going to do next. Plus having a new team means we have no idea how House is going to screw around with them next. I actually like the new team and I also like how Wilson, House and Cuddy seem to be getting along better too.
Go House!

Where are ya going sayin heroes jumped the shark!! i'm sick to death of ppl critisising the show that had and amazing first and longer than most other tv shows season and then got unlucky with the writer strike so only got 11 episodes, 4 of which weren't great but the last lot were brill. And season 3 has been as great as the first!I don't understand why ppl expect miracles from this show and set such high standards for it or they'll axe it when there's crap on tv such as LOST, Family guy and prison break.Yess lost i hate it it makes no sense and now they time travel WTF the writers haven't a clue how they're gonna end it and its bin dragged out for 4 seasons 2 long i can't wait until its over, or family guy whose season 6 was terrible it shud hav finished then, yet no one sets up forums to try and get them cancelled like they did heroes even when 1 of heroes bad episodes is as gud as any episode of them shows they need to give heroes a break.I do agree that scrubs jumped the shark at the end of season 6 which was a horrible shame as the 3rd last ep of 6 'my cold shower' is my fav ep out of them all. i do love my princess despite the kelso bein chief when he had retired mistake but htis season is far more serious than it is funny so in a way i'm not sad that it is the last season

As far as grey's goes - i was pissed when izzie started seeing denny because it killed the realism of the show - but its explained! she has a brain tumor.. she wasn't just seeing dead people for the hell of it. i think thats actually pretty awesome, personally.

Lost; There is still hope but unfortunately the time travel stuff could get sticky or more appropriately stinky. Not jumped yet but young Ben getting shot means having work ahead of the writers.
House; Get this show the heck off this list, this show still rocks and even if they have a couple filler episodes it's still kicking the crap out of watching anything else on tv. Not only am I offended to see it on here, I feel that people who claim that of house have a word I'll put together as "whathaveyoudoneformelatelyism". For those of you whathaveyous, I bet you still watch eagerly every week, not the hallmark of a show that jumped the shark.
Family Guy; Now how can anyone ever really claim that? I mean this show is the same show every single time with different jokes....it's phenomenally true to formula. Yes blue harvest was a letdown, oh well.
Heroes; A great one season show, but wait! Peter and Sylar are both fine? Sylar's a good guy no he's not? I get the feeling they're taking turns writing an episode and passing it over to a new writer for next week, it's the effect of each person writing a sentence in a paper. Nifty at points but not worthwhile. Shark jump moment? Not waiting almost a full season to reveal that Peter survived. Yeah I blew up, no consequence.

Aside from the top 2 I don't watch any of these shows enough or at all to weigh in on their jumpage. I think House and Family Guy offer predictable yumminess, a la the Big Mac, that can be enjoyed whenever the mood hits you. I keep trying to return to Smallville, after a separation beyond my control, but it just seems dated so you are no doubt correct about its downfall. As to Heroes I again agree. It jumped by the end of the first season finale and has no hope of returning to greatness unless they give up telling stories about characters that have already traversed their arcs. They introduce new characters but they don't last long.
I do disagree with the inclusion of Lost however. While they have lost some of their ability to maintain multiple story arcs, leaving plot threads hanging for several episodes, it matters not whether they travel through time or fight zombies or do an entire episode in mime, whiteface and all, it will remain the best show on television.

Ugh, that is NOT the definition of "jumped the shark." A show jumps the shark when there's a single defining moment, usually some kind of ratings stunt, where you realize the show just isn't good anymore. You can't go and list ten different things you don't like about a show and say it jumped the shark. A show is perfectly able to go downhill without really having a "shark-jumping" moment.
The phrase Jump the Shark is so over-used I'm actually getting sick of it.

I agree that Heroes has "jumped the shark" (or whatever), the whole plot of the "save the cheerleader. save the world" thing was intriguing in S1 but then S2 came along and ruined everything! It went off track, all these new characters kept coming in and random people dying from the sides. It got really boring, sexual, and just plain violent.
I don't agree that House did! House is perfectly fine and individual episode plots and everything are pretty much in great shape. The one thing that threw me off was when one of the doctors died, but it gave a soft landing and the story goes on. The writers & directors are doing the best they can after one of the cast members left and in my opinion, House is FINE.

This "Top 10" is a joke. I didn't even get halfway through before realizing it was written by a woman who was listing HER favorite shows that jumped the shark. Heroes, okay. But THE OC? C'mon, that flaming turd was barely a blip in the annals of TV history.

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